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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · chest · mouse · cap · pit · degree · nail · ball

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. chest — a box
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pit — in a race
  9. chest — of your body
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. degree — an amount
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. degree — temperature
  17. ball — a dance
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. ball — a great time
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. race — humankind

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com